Frozen Fantasy: Here’s to Better Results

Some things are predictable. Like Ye self-destructing. Again. Elon Musk doing the same. And the Leafs try to redefine insanity game by game.

Same approach. Same mistakes. Same outcome.

It's all so hard to watch.

Sheldon Keefe looks like a dead man walking. Only John Tavares and Ilya Samsonov are shining like stars. How can a team laden with such talent seem so disengaged and bent on self-destruction?

I'd make a lot more money if I had an answer for that. And win more fantasy leagues if I had the same answers about some of my squads.

I hear you. You've been there too.

I'm currently 8th in a 12-team head-to-head league despite sending Sidney Crosby, Kirill Kaprizov, Mitch Marner, Anze Kopitar, Martin Necas and J.T. Miller over the boards. Brad Marchand adds to my wealth and Gabriel Landeskog sits on my IR. Plus Jacob Markstrom and Ilya Samsonov guard the cage for me.

It's frustrating. I'm one goal, one special-teams goal and one goalie win from swinging the score significantly. Two in each of those categories and the score almost flips.

Yes, it's that close.

Last week, I preached patience. I think I need to re-read my own article. I keep trying to tell myself I can't lose a league in the first three weeks. But a second-straight tight matchup with an ugly score will sure make the climb back a real scramble.

Let's take a look at who caught my eye this week… before I swear about my team again.

Andreas Athanasiou, LW/RW, Chicago (1 percent Yahoo!) – Athanasiou has bounced around a lot – Detroit, Edmonton, Los Angeles and now Chicago. And injuries have derailed him from ever replicating his 30-goal, 54-point season from 2018-19. But now healthy, Athanasiou has his best shot at doing just that on Chicago's top line with Max Domi and THE Patrick Kane. Double-A has four points, including three goals, on nine SOG and a plus-3 rating in six games coming out of Sunday. He's still a bit of a riverboat gambler, but a 30-goal player is still a 30-goal player.

Jason Dickinson, C/LW, Chicago (2 percent Yahoo!) – Hawks' general manager Kyle Davidson must smile every shift Dickinson takes. Not only has the winger helped make the team's PK aggressive and dangerous, but he had also put up six points (two goals, four assists) in six games heading into play Sunday night. Dickinson's a perfect fit in Chicago and an NHL first-rounder. There may not be much power-play production right now, but this is Chicago and you just never know.

Max Domi, C/LW/RW, Chicago (39 percent Yahoo!) – Every day, Domi slides onto more rosters, so this is a don't-delay red flag. He had a four-game, six-point streak snapped Saturday, but who cares – Domi is in the best spot of his entire career. He has a guaranteed Hall-of-Famer on one wing in Patrick Kane and one of the fastest players on Earth on the other (Athanasiou, above). Plus a one-year 'I'll show you' contract. It all adds up to the best fantasy math out there. Domi will be moved by the deadline and drop down the lineup of his new squad. Get him now and apply liberally before trading him in a couple months.

Kevin Hayes, C, Philadelphia (24 percent Yahoo!) – Hayes clearly understood the assignment when John Tortorella arrived. He's leading and scoring. He's on PP1. And he rang up a five-game, eight-point scoring streak to start the season. Hayes has never been more than a 54-point player. And he's been hurt more than healthy for years. But if Torts likes you, then Torts like you. Hayes is headed toward a new career mark in scoring. Just don't expect much at the dot - he's abysmal. (OK that's harsh, but sometimes the truth hurts.)

Anton Khudobin and Scott Wedgewood, G, Dallas (0 and 3 percent Yahoo!, respectively) – Jake Oettinger (99 percent Yahoo!) pulled himself out of Saturday's game, ostensibly for catching his foot on the post and 'tweaking' something. The Stars are sending him for imaging Monday and who knows what they'll find. Hopefully, Oettinger just scared himself and he's not really hurt. But if not, Wedgewood will take over and Khudobin will get the call to help split the workload. Both will be decent in limited action. Jump if you need help in the paint and have roster room. Goalies are the rarest of the rare in most fantasy leagues. They pretty much need to be rostered if they have a jersey and can tie their own skates.

Brandon Montour, D, Florida (41 percent Yahoo!) – Get Montour now or forever hold your peace. He's now wearing Aaron Ekblad's skates and has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last five games. Add on 16 shots and four blocked shots while quarterbacking the top power play, and must-add isn't strong enough. Montour will be 65-75 percent rostered very soon. Likely more.

Nick Paul, C/LW, Tampa Bay (6 percent Yahoo!) – Drafters had high hopes after Paul's 14 points in 21 games after his trade to the Bolts late last year, but a slow start saw him hit the wire. Heading into Monday, he's racked up five points (two goals, three assists), 10 SOG, six blocked shots and 31 faceoff wins in his last four games. The second-line gig is his until Anthony Cirelli comes back and the Bolts are, well, a great team with Cup aspirations. Paul won't get you power-play points, but he's a deep-league option if you don't need that.

Jonathan Toews, C, Chicago (14 percent Yahoo!) – If you know me at all, you know I have crushed on this guy for years. The talent. The clutch performance. The leadership. Toews is riding a five-game, five-point streak coming out of Sunday's game. He's getting power-play time. He's winning face-offs. He's being Jonathan Toews again. And he's available in almost nine-of-10 leagues.

Back to better results.

I already had Domi in the league I described above. And I added Paul and Toews to try to help stop my skid. They weren't radical moves, but I needed to do something.

It's a tweak, not a transformation. It's early. And unlike the Leafs, I'm not going to trade Mitch Marner or Ilya Samsonov. And I can't fire the coach or the manager, although we've both thought of that at times. Amirite or amirite?

I do think I'm going to stop watching the Leafs for a while. It just feels like salt in a wound. Like Twitter. But I digress.

Here's to better results.

Until next week.